Hawaiian Food Beyond Poke

Think Hawaiian food, and you probably think of poke. The salad of diced raw fish, seasoned with oil, salt and often tamari, has become the avocado toast of 2017: Delicious, healthy, and suddenly everywhere. Naturally, when I set out for Lanai—a tiny, comma-shaped Hawaiian island just 8 miles west of Maui—I expected to drown in the stuff at every meal. Instead, I was surprised by an array of inventive dishes that blend native Hawaiian foods with American tastes, sprinkled with influences from sizable Korean, Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, and Puerto Rican populations.

Take, for instance, musubi. It's sort of like Spam sushi, and while spam gets a bad rap, it’s not made from anything much different from what’s in a hot dog. Indeed, locals pick up musubi at the grocery store and eat it on the go like New Yorkers eat hot dogs. Musubi consists, in its simplest form, of a slice of grilled Spam, served on sushi rice and wrapped in nori, served warm. Just like with onigiri, there are a number of musubi variations; sometimes it comes with furikake seasoning mixed into the rice, while other times with a scrambled egg patty sandwiched between the spam and rice. Don’t be put off by its description; it’s worth a taste. And, since it's available for roughly $5 at the Richard's Market in Lanai, it's not much of a gamble, either.

Another local favorite: Venison. Yes, venison. While most people don't associate this game meat with the tropics, many of the Hawaiian islands are overrun with deer. The locals make good use of it, incorporating the tender meat into a variety of dishes, including wontons, burgers, and prepared in the style of Korean beef bulgogi. In fact, you'll find it on the menu at most restaurants on the islands; look for USDA-certified Molokai venison, which is free-range and ethically sourced. Gerard's in Maui—a Hawaiian-meets-French upscale spot—serves the tender meat en croute, which is just a fancy way of saying wrapped in pastry.

Or how about a Loco Moco? The crazily named dish consists of a pile of rice, topped with a hamburger patty and sunny-side up egg, all drizzled in gravy. The dish got its moniker from a group of teenagers, who named it for a guy in their crew they liked to call "crazy." They added "moco" because it sounded cool, but ironically, the word means "booger" in Spanish. Loco moco is mostly a staple at diners and grab-and-go establishments (as you can imagine, it's great for a hangover), but plenty of local chefs, like celebrity Roy Yamaguchi, are putting a gourmet spin on it by using better-quality ingredients; at Yamaguchi's Eating House 1849 in Kapolei, Honolulu, the patty is made from 100 percent natural, wild harvest, free-range Makaweli beef.

You'll find some of the country's best sushi in Hawaii.

Courtesy Four Seasons

And of course, there's Hawaii's sushi. Lanai—an island with a population just north of 3,000—has some of the world’s best sushi. Nobu at the Four Seasons Resort Lanai sources nearly 65 percent of its menu from local fisheries and farms and, in addition to the restaurant's signature dishes, pays homage to local influence, particularly in its desserts, many of which feature fruits you've probably never heard of. A standout: a coconut mousse layered with a jelly made from lilikoi, an exotic strain of passion fruit.

All this said, no trip to Hawaii is complete without a bowl of poke. For the best on Lanai, head to Lanai Ohana Poke Market, a no-frills counter-service spot in town that serves poke so fresh and beloved by locals, it’s only open from 10:30 a.m. to noon each day. The poke is so tasty, the area school teachers and office workers take turns making runs to the market to stock up before close!